


What Do You Get When Tony Stark Is Framed For Treason?

by memoryrebel



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AO3 1 Million, Aftermath of Torture, Hurt Tony, Hurt/Comfort, I am a HORRIBLE PERSON, I do not know what to do with tags, Torture, ideas from all sorts of fics combined, plus a few off my own, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-26
Updated: 2014-04-27
Packaged: 2017-12-27 16:11:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 10,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/980970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/memoryrebel/pseuds/memoryrebel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A whole lot of angry Avengers. <br/>What happens when Tony Stark is kidnapped by one of America's most wanted, and then arrested for supposedly having aided him in avoiding capture and withholding information from the government? <br/>A whole lot of angry Avengers.<br/>Will they be able to get him out of this one? Or will it be up to him?</p><p>(summary sucks. I realize this. Please do not cry in my face about it)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How It All Started: Starring Tony Stark

**Author's Note:**

> Ok. I do not know what I was thinking. I just was on a fanfic binge and ideas from all sorts of fics and from my head just came together to create this.  
> Sorry... 
> 
> Btw, I own nothing except for my awesome bad guy. And my cat, but that does not really concern you does it?

   Now, do not ever let anybody tell ya Tony Stark is stupid, and if they do, sock 'em in the jaw. He was a certified genius for a reason. Sure, maybe going out into another battle when his suit was currently not in its best shape was not his best idea, but, his team needed him, and whoever kept pushing these surprise attacks on them did not really leave time for suit repairs. But how was he supposed to know that with the slightest hole or chink in his armor, the robots they were fighting could send a drone into his suit and shut it down.

   And with that, he found himself falling. He was not too high up, so he was not badly injured, but that did not make the impact any less jarring. Once on the ground, and defenseless in his suit that was no longer functioning, the robots found the oppurtunity to surround him. Using the emergency release button, the suit opened and he got up. The robots wheeled back at the sudden outburst of movement, allowing him to make a run for it. He pressed his hand to his hear to talk into the comms as he made for the door of a building. The pissed off robots were shooting at him now, and being armorless, out in the open was probably not the best place to be.

  "Guys, my suit is down. I'm taking cover. Lemme know if there is anything I can do."

  Once inside, he rounded the corner and made for the stairs. The elevators were down, seeing as the whole city was now powerless, it was not a stretch for the elevators as well so he did not even try them.He had to get at high as he could so he could see the battle and maybe be of help still. When he got to the top he was winded and had to sit down on the roof for a moment. Eleven flights of stairs. That was more than should be legal when there is no electricity. After catching his breath, he headed over to the edge of the building. He peered down to locate his teammates. The hulk was smashing, as per usual, bots into the ground and throwing them into buildings and even hot dog carts. Romanoff was just a speck from this height, but he could just make out he fiery red hair as it twirled along with her kicks, and the gunshots from her handguns were comforting. Even if it did nothing but slow the bots down a bit. Barton was on top of the building across from him, about three stories shorter than his own, shooting explosive arrows at the bots, taking out several. Rogers was flinging his shield from ground level into more and more robots as they kept coming. Tony could not help but wish Thor was here and not on Asgard with Jane Foster so that he could fry 'em up. But, it was just a wish.

  Being on top of an eleven story building as he was, he though he could be considered relativelt safe. But, guess not. He heard a wirring sound, as if something mechanical was hovering. He spun around just in time to see one of the robots rising over the building. It looked exactly the same as the others, except this one seemed build strictly for flying rather than fighting. Good thing too, because he was suitless.

  It dropped with a clang onto the rooftop, and it's robot head came rolling off. Tony knelt down beside the robot corpse to get a good look at it. _Poor little guy. He died and I didn't even have to touch him. What a shame._ He picked up the robot head, and inside it he noticed a note.

   " **Hello Stark."**


	2. There Is A Reason Tony Is Not A Detective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In other words, Tony Stark's attempt at finding out who left him the note and who is after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those who left kudos, thank you so much.  
> And to anyone reading, It has not gotten excited yet, I realize, but it will.  
> Bear with me please.  
> Btw, sorry this was not up next day like I said, I had a lot of homework and then I went to my dad's house and he does not let me use computer. Apologize.

  Tony was not a detective, but he was a mechanical genius. Genius in general, but who was being technical. So, he had brought the robot witht the message in it home under the pretense that he wanted to study it, to see how it worked. That was only half a lie. He did want to study it, but he already knew how it worked. He wanted to study it to find out who sent it.

  So, there he was. In his workshop. After three days of no sleeping or eating. Studying this abomination of technology. And... getting nothing. He just was not a detective, and whoever this was covered his tracks well. It occured to him that all of these attacks were clearly by the same person, and this person was after him. Maybe these attacks were to disarm the suit... Close together so that he would not have time to fix it properly, then it would be simple for whatever those little bots that took down his suit completelty to come in and do their job. After that, he would be without protection and it would be to easy to get to him. The bastard.  But if so, why didn't they just get him at the fight today? Maybe to discreetly get him, without anybody seeing? This just did not fit together.

  Anyway, after not eating for a few days, you get hungry. He did not want to make anything, so he ordered pizza. He never thought that he would regret that decision.

* * *

 

   When Tony woke up, it was dark and his whole body ached everywhere.  _God, what was in that pizza,_ he thought as he quickly came to realize his head was throbbing terribly. He turned his head to the side, despite the way it made it spin,  and found he was in what looked like a tiny cell, the walls of it normal chainlink fence. Across the room there was an open door with stairs leading upwords, so he guessed basement. Tony realized he was laying on an old, hard matress on the ground with a thin blanket. That would explain why his back hurt, the matress did not make a whole lot of difference from just lying on the ground. He rubbed a hand over his face and sat up. He heard clinking. Tony looked at his hands, discovering that his wrists was attached to chains, that led to the wall. Ok, so he won't be going anywhere soon.

   One thing that he was sure of, whoever had been after him had gotten him. Tony leaned his back against the only wall not made of fence material, and leaned his head back against it. God, he hoped the throbbing would go away soon. He heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and jerked his head in that direction, instantly regretting it as the room began to spin. He felt really tired. Geeze, stupid drugs.

   "Good evening Mr. Stark." the man that entered said as he stepped off the last stair. He stopped in the doorway to what Tony assumed was a basement. The man was average height, maybe an inch or two taller, with dark blonde hair, and (from what Tony could see,) dark brown eyes. His face was angular and his nose was rounded. It stood out against his other sharp features.

   "Hey to you too." Tony replied quietly. He really just wanted to go back to sleep. He did wander briefly how this man knew he was awake so soon, but then he spotted the security camera in the upper corner of the room.

   "No need to be rude." the man commented, smiling.

   "Plenty of need to be rude. Do I know you?" Tony asked tilting his head slightly, and slowly.

   The man laughed, _loudly, damn him,_ and kept that stupid smile on his face, "You may have seen me on the news every now and again, but I do not believe we have met. An honor by the way."

   Tony inclined his head, "Great, I only have two more questions then. What do you want with me, and what is your name? Calling 'The Man' in my head is getting annoying."

   Again, he laughed, "You can just call me Andy. And you are here because I want SHIELD to give me something that is rightfully mine. I discovered this information after all. So, I figured if I took one of their pets that they would maybe, oh I don't know... GIVE IT BACK!" He shouted the last part.

   Ok, mood swings. Great.

   "And what makes you think they give a rat's ass about me?" Tony questioned.

   "Oh, if they refuse me, I'll just keep you here for my own fun. I don't care. If they won't give me back my research, then I won't give back their pet. Simple as that. At least I won't be bored." Andy kind of whispered the last sentence of his little speech. Tony regarded with a wary, confused expression on his face. He just hoped whatever this guy wanted SHIELD could give him without putting people in harm, which he doubted. But, if this guy kept him, he was in trouble. Maybe the Avengers could find him. _I hope, I hope, I hope._

   "Well," Andy interupted his thoughts, "if we want them to know I have you, we should probably send them a message. We can't have you looking so nice for picture day can we?"

   Tony sighed, that didn't bode well for him. Andy clapped twice, and two thug type people came loping down the stairs. They quietly came over to his cell, unlocked the gate, and stepped into his already cramped and tiny space. He looked up at the tall, muscley men and took a deep breath. He didn't even try standing up, he just didn't have the engergy, besides it would be pointless if he would just get knocked down anyway. The first kick hit him right in the abdomen, where he felt a rib break and at least two others crack. The pain was excrutiating and it left him winded. He pulled his legs up to his chest in a futile attempt at protection. It did him no good though, because a man just bent down and socked him in the jaw. That hurt like a bitch.

   After a while, the pain became unbearable, everything aching ever more, bleeding in several place, and several bones either broken or cracked. "Enough." he heard the command. One of the thugs grabbed his hair roughly, jerked his head forward and then slammed it against the wall. Then, the world went black, and he knew no more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so sorry this chapter was a late. It has only been two or three days, but I had said one and for that I am sorry. So... yeah.   
> The other may be up by tomorrow, but if it is not it won't be till Thursday, my dang dad's house situation again.   
> Also, thank you to those kudo'ing and to the person who commented.   
> Reviews or suggestions about what you guys would like to see in upcoming chapters are always appreciated.  
> Thanks again.


	3. Where The Hell Is Tony?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers won't be very happy when they find their friend missing. Or when they find out who has him.

   It had been five days since Tony had come out of his lab. Pepper wasn't worried. He stayed down there for extended periods of time a lot, it was his thing, whenever he had something troubling to work out. His suit had been completely out of commission after the last battle, so he was probably holed up in there fixing it. But, what bothered her, was when, on the fourth day, when she called to ask if he would come to dinner with the others, he did not answer. No matter what he was doing, he always answered the phone when she called. She said as much to the Avengers at dinner that night.

   "He might be asleep. He has probably been awake the whole time he has been down there, and crashed." Steve suggested.

   "No, I called him not half an hour ago, to ask him to eat. Jarvis would have woken him up, for his health reasons." Pepper countered back. She knew that AI best, right after Tony.

   "She is right. Hey..." Natasha added, "Have you guys noticed Jarvis has been quiet lately?"

   "Yeah." Clint said, before he raised his voice slightly, "Hey Jarvis?"

   No response. That meant trouble. Tony would never let Jarvis go broken. Without a word, Natasha and Clint got up and left the room, followed about a minute later by Steve, Bruce, and Pepper. They all headed down to the workshop, where they found the door closed but unlocked, and their entrance lacked the usual greeting by the AI. Natasha stepped inside first, and looked around. No sign of Tony.

   "It's empty." she called back, and then everyone filed in after her. As they all took their own looks around the empty workshop, Natasha noticed nobody had been here for at least a day and a half since anybody had been here, and Clint noticed a broken beaker on the floor by a work table.

   "Something is wrong here." the archer commented as he walked over to the table that was the only thing that showed a sign of a disturbance, "Let's see if we can get the footage from the cameras."

   Natasha nodded before she headed to the main consol, and quickly did the emergency reboot on Jarvis that Tony had showed her how to do. "Good evening ma'am."

   "Hi Jarvis. Have you seen Tony? Do you know where he is?"

   "Uh... I have not seen him since my shutdown exactly forty hours and twenty-five minutes ago. It seems Mr. Stark has been taken ma'am." And Natasha could've sworn there was concern in the AI's voice.

   She looked back at the others with their varying expressions, but mostly concern and anger was what she saw. "Can you show us the feed from twenty minutes before you shut down?"

   "Of course Ms. Romanoff."

   The screen in front of her lit up with feed from the security camera, everybody crowding in behind her. In the video, the lab looked the same it does now, except their was a pizza box on a counter that was now gone, no broken beaker, and Tony was walking around. In the video, Tony had been tinkering with his car that he loved so much, then gone over to the table that the broken beaker was by. After probably a moment, he started to look dizzy, his hand slipped knocking over the beaker, and he turned around before just falling and hitting the floor. The next second, the feed went dead.

   "Safe to say he definitely was a taken."Clint commented.

   "I think the pizza he was eating was poisoned. It's gone now, they must've taken it to get rid of some evidence." Natasha said, and hear Clint grunt in affirmation.

   Pepper, Bruce and Steve were being utterly silent, not making a noise, before Steve spoke up, "We should call Fury."

   They were dialing the number when Natasha's phone actually rang first.

   "Director Fury, sir?" she asked, putting it on speaker.

   "Get over here, all of you. We have a problem."

   Clint looked at Natasha, and they knew, there definitely was a problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeha, it is short, I know. I am so sorry.


	4. Who Is Mysterious Andy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, we finally learn who "Andy" is, kinda. Well, we will see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks again for comments and kudos.  
> Sorry this took so long, I had school and I went to a concert on Friday where I met Maroon 5, and I had a sick pet whom we had to say goodbye to on Saturday. May she rest in peace.  
> Thanks for your patience.

   The Avengers all gathered in their debriefing room, sans Tony, no surprise. They were all quiet, and the air of the room was tense. Everybody assumed, or more like knew, Fury's problem was Tony being missing. After sitting for a couple minutes, Fury walked in, not saying a word, and stopping at the head of the table with his hands folded behind his back.

   After a while, he sighed and said, "I am not surprised Stark is not here."

   "You know he is missing then?" Steve asked.

   Fury did not question how they knew, he just went on with what he was saying, "I just found out an hour ago, actually. We recieved a message." With those words he slid a picture across the table. It was of Tony, he looked to be unconsious, and was pretty beaten up. They noticed his wrists were chained to the wall, that one of his arms was resting across his chest as if broken ribs were present, and the back of his head was bleeding, probably the reason for his unconsiousness.

   "What did they say with it?" Natasha asked as she set down the photo on the table.

   "Nothing, yet. There is a number on the back, and it was signed with the name Andy and the words 'you know who I am.'" Fury said, looking between Natasha and Clint.

   "Andy Rowan?! As in Andy 'top of most wanted list' Rowan?!" Clint exclaimed.

   "Andy Rowan?" Steve questioned. Bruce had yet to speak.

   "He is the most wanted criminal on SHIELD's list. He had been trying to duplicate the Chitauri, and before that, he had been scrambing DNA to try to recreate the supersoldier serum, as well as to create the most dangerous creature the world has discovered yet. We confiscated all of his work when we last arrested him, but he had escaped. I am assuming he wants his data back." Fury finished. Natasha had her mask on as usual, Clint was seething, and Bruce looked green around the grills. Steve had yet to come up with a reaction.

   "If he does want his data, what are we gonna do? We can't give him that. Hundreds of people will be killed." Natasha said quietly.

   "I know. Well, lets just call this number and see what it is exactly that he wants." Fury said.

   In a couple of seconds the phone was ringing, and on the other end, there came a happy, very annoying voice of "Hello?"

   "Good morning Andy Rowan." Fury replied.

   "Oh, so you do know who I am. Good, I was worried I would have to explain myself. So, I assume you know what I want."

   "Your data." Natasha piped in.

   "Ah. Good morning Romanoff. Yes, you are correct, in a way."

   "Care to elaborate?" Fury asked gruffly.

   "Well, as you know, I have your Iron Man. I could have taken any of Fury's little pets, but I chose Stark. Why?" He waited for a moment, but after getting no response, he continued, "For one, he is the easiest to reach. I don't have to worry about freaky ninja skills, big green jellybean, or the frozen sumo wrestler. He is just simple, take out the suit, and you get him."

   Steve realized that was why all the attacks were so close together, so Tony couldn't fix his suit. Then that annoying voice continued, "Anyway, that wouldn't be the only reason. I mean, don't you think it would be fun to do some... science experiments? The two already science experiments on your team? No, wouldn't do. The ninjas, I would be dead before I could get anywhere. So I think I made the right choice. It suits many other purposes for me as well. But here is not a place to be elaborating. Lets just say its a back up plan." They could almost hear that smile on his stupid face.

   "Don't you touch him!" Clint said angrily.

   "Looks like I have your attention. No worries, give me my data and I can give him back with minimal damage. I just don't want to have to start over again is all. Even if you don't give my stuff back, I will get everything back in time, so you are not helping yoursleves. I just do not wish to waste time. Tell ya what, I will give you... hmm... twelve hours to make your decision, and if I do not get the answer I want by then, then I will get creative. Deal? Great." Then static as he clearly hung up.

   "What are we going do?" Steve piped up. Bruce had left, getting greener by the second, he had to go calm down.

   "We cannot give up the data." Fury said stubbornly.

   "But if he is gonna get it all back eventually, why can't we just give it to him?" Steve argued.

   "Because, this way we have time to find him before he does, and time to prepare for him. If we just give it to him our upperhand is gone." Natasha informed.

   "Alright." Steve sighed, "Then what do we do?"

   "Hill!!" Fury called, "Did you track the call?"

   "It did not get us anywhere, sir. He scrambled the signal and the call was too short. We know it is in the states sir. " She said poking her head around the corner before vanishing again.

   "Well, that is very helpful Hill." he said sarcastically, then added to them seriously, "Look. We will keep looking, but we have nothing presently. So, you all are going to have to wait for him to call back. Alright?"

   The Avengers filed out single file, not of them saying a word. They found Bruce and relayed the situation. Then, they all went back to the Avengers Tower, where they informed Pepper on what they learned. Natasha sat with a crying Pepper for hours, and the others sat around a tabel in silence. With all his super strength, and even before he became the first and only successful super soldier, he had never felt so helpless. Never, in his entire life, a had he felt so helpless.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yea, hi. So could you guys leave comments, suggestions, etcetera, etcetera. thanks.


	5. Finally The Trail Closes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trail is revealed, followed, and ends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, so sorry this took so long. I had horrible writers block, a lot of artist creativity going, and just couldn't get the courage to write. I apologize sooooooo soooooo much. Yeah.
> 
> Anyway, I decided to skip the "experimenting" thing. Like, it happened, but I am not writing it. So you guys will just have to wait for me to reveal whatever happened and guess until then.

   The Avengers had been sitting restlessly around the tower, pacing, or doing whatever people do when they nervous, when they got a message from Fury. They were given coordinates, clues, etcetera, then they were off in a Quinjet to go and get their friend back. They were silent the first hour into their flight, then started discussing strategy.

   "So, what I think we should do, "Natasha began the conversation, "is have Clint and I scout around, see how many guards are around, what we are up against. Then we come back and make a decision form there."

   Clint nodded in agreement, Bruce was silent, Thor looked contemplative, and Steve simply had no response. In the end they all agreed, it just happened not eveyone was in a very chatty mood at the moment, you know, considering. Once they had their plan, the rest of the trip was silent, then they landed twenty miles away from their destination, and off they went into the forest which surrounded the building that supposedly had Tony in it. Once they found the building amongst all the trees, they stopped on the outskirts. Everyone of them climbed their own tree, in case of ground patrols, and then Clint and Natasha were off, hopping and swinging from tree to tree like monkies. If the circumstances were different, it might have made Steve smile, to see the two of them doing what they loved together. And by what they loved, he meant stuff like swinging from trees, and training together. They didn't show it a whole lot, but anybody who knew them could tell they loved eachother, and that whatever they were doing, as long as they were together, wasn't so bad to them.

   They were all quiet, no change there, as they waited. Two patrols came by on foot below them, and they luckily were not spotted. Natasha came back soon after and they all climbed down from their trees at her signal and were off through the trees. Apparently they had been watching the patrols for when it was safe to go on foot, and also found out that it would be possible to do this without backup or anything, there did not appear to be many guards. To everyone, excepting Thor apparently, the lack of guards set off alarm bells. But, they were not about to look a gift horse in the mouth as it were. They met up with Clint, who was perched very high in a tree, dangerously high, with an arrow notched and ready. Natasha whisteld and he looked down at them, then descended. Nobody doubted that he had already seen them coming from twenty feet away like he always did.

   Now, it was planning time.

***

   Andy was looking at a computer screen. Scrolling through stuff, then he stood, and turned to his men. "They have found us. Let's move." Then he shut his laptop screen, turning away form the text of the message Fury had sent. By the time the Avengers boarded their plane, he was gone.

***

   They took down the few guards outside easily, and the two foot patrols they had seen earlier when they came back to check out the commotion. Once all outside guards were taken care, they worked on infiltrating the actual building. Tasha picked the lock on a back door, and they were in. It was quiet, every room they checked, empty.

   "Did they get away? How?" Steve said angrily as he closed the door that had led to a bedroom, the only thing in it a cot.

   "That would explain the lack of guards. It is a ploy so they can escape." Natasha said, just a hint of anger escaping from her mask.

   They were all about to give up, when Thor shouted, "My friends, I have found something."

   They all rushed over, and found him standing by a door, leading directly to stairs that must go to a basement. Tentatively, Clint stepped down first, followed by Tasha, Thor, Steve, and lastly Bruce. Clint had stopped only a few steps in front of the last step. Natasha had gotten only a little further, and Steve peered over Thor's shoulder to see why. In the corner of the room, in what seemed to resemble a cage, there was man asleep on his side, facing the wall. There was a long chain attached the wall, that seemed to lead to his hands, although Steve couldn't see to well.

   "Tony?" Bruce whispered, in shock most like.

   Natasha went over to the cage like thing, and unlocked the door, by picking the lock. "It's him." she said over her shoulder, as she stepped inside. As she did so, everyone came a little closer, although not close enough to crowd. She knelt down next to him and gently shook his shoulder. "Tony?" she said quietly, trying to wake him up.

   He did wake up, but it didn't end well. He turned his head sleepily over his shoulder to look at her. But, as soon as his eyes focused, he scrambled up and turned to press his back against the wall. His eyes were wide and he had his hands pressed against the wall. Everyone took a surprised step back at his sudden outburst. Natasha reached a hand out to calm him, but he batted it away, shouting "Don't touch me!" Steve could not understand why he was so scared. It was them, that meant he was safe now.

   But then he asked it, "Who are you?" He asked it warily, and sounded terrified. His beat up face having the most fear on it that Steve had ever seen, and his dark eyes were darting from one of the rescue group to the other. They all probably had identical faces, confusion and worry.

   "Tony," Bruce said in a quiet voice, but the genius' head still snapped to stare in his direction, "It's us."

   He took a shaky breath, but it didn't do anything to calm him down, and "Who's 'us'?"

   When he didn't get an answer, he all but screamed, "WHO ARE YOU?"


	6. What The Hell Is Going On?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so, yeah... some questions are answered, and some more may be created.
> 
> I reiterate, I own nothing except the vile Andy! no suing me.

   It had been a hastle getting Tony out of there. First off, he was having trouble walking, after all, he was pretty beaten up. But, the stranger and more pressing problem? He did not seem to know who they were, and he was jumpy and afraid of everything. The slightest noise set him off. That means Thor with his giant ass sneezes.

   Anyway, after a good twenty minutes of coaxing and calming him down, Natasha finally got close enough to be able to undo the chains, then it took another fifteen minutes for him to let her help him up. He still looked afraid, and confused, but he was allowing it, probably coming to the conclusion they were not going to hurt him. He still would not let anybody else near him, but if Natasha could help, then it was a start. She stood him up, and helped him wrap an arm around her shoulder, and together they headed out of the cage and upstairs. Natasha did not look at them, but Tony kept glancing back at them as though they would attack the moment he turned his back. It was a long trudge back to the plane, with all of them walking ahead of Tasha and Tony, since he appeared to have a problem with them being in the rear. He limped the whole way, and it took a long time to get back. When they came upon the plane, he stopped dead in his tracks.

   "Come on Tony." Tasha urged.

   "But..." he looked absolutely terrified, as he had ever since they found him, other than a look of pain.

   "It's our way out, to safety. Okay? Please trust me."

   Tony gruffly nodded, and they headed up the ramp. The flight back was even longer. Even though it should have been shorter than the walk they took, it seemed longer because of the awkward silence. Everytime somebody would glance at Tony, they would find him already looking at him, as though they were about to rip out his throat. Not only was he not trusting them like he usually did, or remembering them for a fact, but he was terrified of them. For some reason unknown, Natasha had gotten through to him.

   As soon as they were back at base, or the helicarrier as it was called, the paramedics took Tony. The prospect freaked him out, because he seemed to not understand who they were or that they were going to help him. A few words from Tasha had him allowing it, but he did not seem to like it.

   After hours of sitting in the hall outside the medbay, because they could not go in unless they were physically or mentally in peril, calling Pepper to break the news, pacing restlessly, and having Pepper show up to have a mental breakdown, the doctor finally showed up. This doctor told them that Tony was fine, basically. Just a few cracked ribs, a sprained ankle, and no shortage of bruises. And some injection marks. Nothing serious. They sighed in relief. But then, this doctor said another man was checking Tony out to see why he did not remember them, because evidentally, there was not head injury that should have caused it. At those words, everyone remembered Andy's threat to experiment. God, what had happened to Tony?

   The special doctor came out, and said that there was a trace of something in Tony's system that he had not seen before, and definitely was not supposed to be there. It was clearly one of Andy's dirty little genetic kind of inventions.

   "Mr. Stark does not remember any of you, or you Miss Potts, I showed him your picture. I  am sorry, but I don't know what the things in his system is, so I do not know what to do about it. It could wear off if we are lucky. Also, he seems to have a hightened sense of fear, as well as, apparently, pain. It is the oddest thing. I have no idea what this guy was working on or what he injected into Mr. Stark. If I think of something, I will let you know. I am sorry."

   And with that, he left, and the team was stuck letting the seriousness of the situation sink in.


	7. A Little Bit of Tony Drama

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry this has taken FOREVER! I have been thinking about this a lot, but writer's block is a bitch (pardon my French). But, I stopped delaying, and now here, is your Christmas present.  
> And I want those of you who read to know, that even if there was only one person who was bothering to read, I would continue no matter what. I will never forget about you guys. I promise. Even one reader means a lot to me, so just letting you know, you can always count on updates no matter how late.  
> MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

   Tony was sitting on the hospital bed, legs hanging over the edge, staring nervously at the door. The doctor had left a little over an hour ago, and he had kept his eyes on the door the whole time, as if the next thing to come walking through was going to hurt him. As if the mystery of what behind it interested him, but the possibility of the answer frightened him, so he sat there in nervous tension.

   Natasha had her theories about why she was the only one he even had a semblence of trust for. Her of all people, she could not believe it. Her number one theory was that she had been the first to really try and talk him down, the first to be calm and not frighten him. So, in that case, she came across as the calmest and most likely candidate to be trusted. Her second theory was that he was basing it off of looks alone, and her being the only woman there, made her the one he trusted. In which case, there definitely was a bit of Tony left in there, and there was hope.

   That being said, she was the only one he seemed even remotely comfortable with being in the room. He had yet to even accept Pepper as a safe person yet. He seemed to remember her, recognition only sparking in his eyes when she was there. But, he still seemed gittery around her. At first, there was not even the rememberence there. But, it had come back. She was the only one. Natasha knew he was close. He was almost there when it came to remembering the woman he loved. 

   It was things like this that made her wish she could love somebody like that. That if she ever didn't remeber anything, forgot everything, that one person would stick out above everything else. Or even if she were in Pepper's spot. If not being remembered, or having the person you love not feel safe around you quite yet, but you don't give up on them. She wished she could. But love was for children. She couldn't love anybody like that, especially with the life she led.

  She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the door opening. Almost instantaneously, Tony jumped and was behind the bed. She had no idea he had such good reflexes. She looke over to the door and saw it was Pepper. When Tony seemed to realize this fact, he slowly stood up and rested his hands on the bed, leaning against it. He looked up at her without moving his head and smiled shyly. Shy? Tony? Natasha almost laughed. Almost. 

  Pepper smiled back at him. Tasha could tell she was hurt by the reaction, but she stood tall and acted normal just the same. Pepper set down the papers she had been holding and tilted her head at Tony. He tilted his head back, looking at her for a second. He stepped around the bed, and walked to stand in front of her. Then he tentatively held out his arms, and when she stepped forward he hugged her. He rested his chin on her shoulder wrapped his arms around her back. She looked shocked for a second, then wrapped her arms around him as well. Then he whispered, "Missed ya Pep."

  Pepper laughed a wet laugh, the kind you make when you're crying, "I missed you too."

***

   It was amazing. When Pepper was there, Tony seemed like Tony. He talked to her animatedly, like he always did about things that interested him. He made the stupid smile he makes whenever someone says something he thinks is stupid and is trying not to laugh. Apparently the board of SI encourages that reaction a lot. According to Pepper, they have been even dumber with him gone. After all, Tony is the "brains of the operation." They talked for hours, Natasha decided at some point to leave. Nobody had even acknowledged her existence. Perhaps because she had been sitting utterly still the entire time. In surveilance mode. 

  She found out later, that as soon as Pepper left, Tony turned back into the jittery Tony they had found not to long ago. But whenever she was there he was good ol' Tony. If anybody else was there with her, he just looked nervous. As though Pepper had just invited a stranger into his home. 

   But, Natasha thought, as long as Pepper can get through to him, there was a chance to get him back. No matter what this myterious substance was. Tony was still in there.


	8. On What Grounds!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have honestly forgotten where I was going with this... oh well, I am sure it will come back to me while I write this chapter. no worries. so... yeah. here ya go.

It was two days later when Pepper was visiting Tony again, more like she had not left, when things got even more complicated.

They had been talking, just the two of them in the room when Director Fury came in. He had not come once since Tony was brought back, and now he was here with two SHIELD agents. Natasha and Clint had been sitting outside of the room on a bench playing at staring contests when Fury had entered, and they were now behind him to see what the commotion was about. They looked inside, to find Pepper looking at Fury with a questioning tilt of the head, and Tony's eyes darting between the three men who had just entered his room. "Tony Stark." came Nick Fury's voice and all eyes that had left him went back to him, "You are under arrest."

"WHAT?!" came the sound from Clint, Pepper, and Tasha all at once. The two spies squeezed into the room to stare Fury down face to face. Tony just looked confused.

"On what grounds?!" Natasha demanded, putting her hands on her hips, and tilting her head accussingly.

Fury sighed, as though he was expecting this but was hoping it wouldn't happen. Well, too bad. It had. 

"We found evidence that he had been helping Andy Rowan with his terrorism attack plans. We need to take him in for questioning." Fury paused, "Cuff him."'

The two guys handcuffed an strangely quiet and compliant, which was SO not Tony Stark, and let him from the room. Pepper followed after them yelling at them and questioning them.

Meanwhile, Natasha and Clint just looked at eachother, their noses almost touchin due to their close proximity. 

"We should tell the others." Tasha said curtly.

"Yeah." came Clint's response. 

They walked out of the room together side by side, step for step. 

They had problem that needed fixing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> good new. I REMEMBERED!!


	9. I've Got Nothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally. I found the motivation. Let us see where it goes.

 "What do you mean he helped Andy? He was there as a prisoner!" Pepper screamed at Director Fury.

Natasha couldn't but smile, she had thought she was the scary angry one. She had been wrong. Pepper was freaking even her out. Damn.

"It means exactly what I have told you Miss Potts. We have him in for questioning, but Mr. Stark is refusing to speak." came Fury's clipped response.

"Of course not! He doesn't have anything to say! He hasn't done anything wrong!" Pepper flamed back, "And by the way, you seem to be forgetting that he has an unknown chemical in his system that is making him afraid! Of course he isn't going to say anything to you! Tony would never do that!"

"We have circumstantial evidence that-" Fury began.

"Where is it?" Natasha asked calmly as if it were a normal conversation. Arms folded, she pushed herself off the wall and stalked toward Fury, "Where is this circumstantial evidence? Hmm? Why can't we see it?"

"Agent Romanoff. Listen to me." Fury said in a testy voice, "It is classifie-"

"No! Now _you_ listen to _me_. You may be my boss,"she reached him and stepped forward, poking his chest, tilting her head up so she could look directly in his eyes," but _Tony_ is my friend. And he is important to me and the rest of the team! Pepper too! If you want to hold him for something, or blame him for something, you sure as hell better show us what you have to keep him. Especially after we just got him back! Show. Me." The last words were said with a harshness that made Fury himself flinch.

"Fine." he said in a quiet but deep voice, then turned and left.

Pepper made a wet laughing noise, and Natasha turned to look at her. As Pepper wiped a tear off her face that had slid out while Natasha had ranted, she smiled. "Who says woman can't get anything done? Huh?"

Natasha couldn't help but smiled back, "Idiots. Come on, let's go get some coffee while we wait for him to get that evidence. Alright?" Natasha held her hand out to Pepper, something she rarely did.

The strawberry blonde sniffed one more time, then nodded, taking the proffered hand, and they walked out together.

* * *

Tony wandered around the interigation room. They had left him alone, finally, for the first time since taking him. He thought it was probably because he had started looking like he was going to have a panic attack. He was no good to them if he was gonna be catatonic, or even dead. 

He did not know what they were talking about, he had no clue if he did what they were accusing him off. Honestly, he did not remember most of his time in that basement. Just pain. Everything else was a blur. He did have a hazy recollection of being injected with things. But he had no idea what.

It was scarin him. What may be in his system. The things people were all of a sudden blaming him for. His being scared all the time of everything. It was all so terrifying.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry these things are getting short. I am having trouble focusing.  
> Anyway, next chapter should get to Clint and the others reacting. I wanted to get the girls in this one, and added Tony as a last minute extension. Hope you likeyd.


	10. What Do The Boys Have To Say?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOOM BABY! I am back and in business. The whole million works celebration reminded me. So yeah.  
> God these chapter names are getting awful. If you guys have better names rattle them off and I will see if I can change the names. This is a group effort you guys, get with the program.  
> Anywhos, now for the main event.   
> Ladies and Gentlemen, what you have all been waiting for. I know you cant wait to be done with my incensent ramblings....(drum roll please) THE NEXT CHAPTER!

They had needed a break from Tony's crap. Don't take it like they were tired of Tony's stupid shit, but more like it was all to much and they needed a breath of air. So, Bruce and Thor were playing ping pong when they got the news. What was a stress reliever for Bruce was doing the opposite for the god, as he could not seem to grasp the idea that he had to be gentle and had already broken eight of the balls. He was about to smash the paddle out of frustration when Bruce gently coaxed him out of it and they sat in silence for a moment.

"You do not understand gentle do you?" Bruce asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"That was gentle." Thor argued back.

"You sent one through the wall, almost decapitating me." Bruce pointed at the wall that had been behind him previously, which now had a little round whole in it.

"I was being gentle for me."

"But not gentle for the ball."

"Well-"

Then, a wild Clint appears. 

You could almost call it that accurately. He popped down from the air ducts, and stood up, looking grimly at the two of them. He opened his mouth to say something, but ended up pointing at the wall with a questioning look.

"Long story." Bruce said to the silent question.

"Ok... Anyway we have a problem."

##*#**##*#*#*#*#*##**##*#*#*#*#*#**#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (This is not cursing, this is my totes awesome page break)

"Fury! What the hell is all of this about?!" Bruce shouted at the Director, holding his anger just enough that no green tinge appeared.

"Banner, you need to calm down." Fury tried to warn.

"Calm down? Calm Down! You have my friend on lock down because he supposedly helped a terrorist that was holding him hostage? Yeah! I am definitely going to calm down." Bruce spun in a circle, then turned back around a pointed a finger the eye patch man's face, "Let me tell you something Director," he spat the title like a curse, "I am calm."

"Doctor..." 

"NO! You better have damn good cause to be doing this. Do you understand. Undeniable proof, his confession. Something like that. Or else I am not going to stand for this. And neither is the rest of your little science experiment over there." He gestured to Thor and Clint standing in the back of the room, one with his arms crossed and sunglasses sitting on his face, the other angrily swining his hammer around.

"Look, the girls were already in here. I told them I would try and get the evidence, but I may not be able to! It has gone to the council, i am no longer in charge or even allowed to sit in. I am merely a witness. Somebody to speak for his state since we have found him. There is nothing I can do! But you know what? I am just as bothered by this nonsense as you are. And I am going to try and figure this out. But in the mean time, I need you to calm DOWN!" Fury said, taking a step toward Bruce, trying to cow him, but the doctor stayed where he was. 

"Sir, you trying is not good enough. Get us our damn evidence. Where are the girls?" Clint spoke from the back of the room.

"They are at the Tower. I had to have them removed. They started harrassing agents and smashing things."  

"Sounds like something they might do. We are going to join them. Get us our answers." Clint said, before turning leaving, Bruce and Thor on his tail.

#*#*##*#*#*#**##*#*#*#*#*#*##**#*##*#*#**#*#*#*#

"Hey girls." Clint greeted as they entered the living room of the Tower.

 They both looked up from where they had been sitting by the bar. Pepper's eyes were red. From what Clint had heard, she had put up a brave front with Fury, a slamming of epic proportions, but now it must've been too much and she had to cry. Natasha nodded her greeting, but then quickly put her attention back on Pepper. 

They all sat around drinking for hours, waiting for Fury's call. Hoping it would be to say that it was all a mistake and that Tony was free. But, of course, it was just blind hope. And when they did get their call, it wasn't even Fury telling them that there was proof either. It was a nameless desk agent.

"Good evening." came the voice over Jarvis' intercom when they answered the call.

"Not really." said Tash, "What is it?"

"uh... um.."the nervous agent on the other end stammered, "I..."

"Do you have our evidence?" Bruce snapped.

"No... the council is not allowing it to be released at this time. But, there is going to be a sort of trial in two days, to um... decide what will happen now. I was told to tell all of you that your attendance is allowed, it is a closed trial. It will be at 21 hundred hours at the ground base. Be promt."

Then, there was static, then silence. A trial meant there was enough substantial evidence to convict. Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two little things.  
> One, I wanted to answer a comment I got a while back on Tony choosing Natasha to trusted because he is basing it on looks. I don't remember who said it, but I have been thinking about why I chose her. And yes, hhehe, looks is partially it. But, it was also that she was the first one he saw and that was there, the one mostly coaxing him and being gentle. And, the biggest part, is that he is super afraid and confused, and Natasha, of all of them, would come across as the least threatening, so naturally, I figured that was who he would trust. although, I know she is definitely not trustworthy or safe blah blah. she just appears that way.
> 
> And.... it has appeared to me when I was rereading cause I forgot most of the story, I think I just wrote thor in, like he was not there at first, but then just appeared... so.... I have no explanation there. sorry. hehe.


	11. My Verict Stands...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two for two you guys. Two days in a row, aren't ya proud of me?
> 
> Ok guys, do not be proud of me, forget what I said up there...  
> This was supposed to be up last night, but I fell asleep while writing it, and my head was on the keyboard writing gibberish.  
> And then when I woke up I thought I had posted it, and I was wondering all morning why nobody had commented yet because usually somebody would by now, but then I realized I had forgotten to post it. OMG!!!!  
> I AM SOOOOOO SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!! UGHHGGHHGHGHGHGHGH!  
> Well, here it is now I suppose. 
> 
> NOW MY FRICKING COMPUTERCLOSED THE PAAAAAAAGGEGEEGEGEGGEGEEGG! I HAVE TO START IT AGAIN!!! How, the things I do for you guys, I must really love you.

The trial was this morning. They all got dressed, The Avengers sans Tony plus Pepper, and headed down to the SHIELD ground quarters where the trial was meant to be held. SHIELD did not do trials. They did not waste there time with them. They only did so if the evidence was questionable, or if the evidence was absolutely conclusive, but SHIELD did not want to believe it. They did not know which it was.

They left and got down there an hour early, they just couldn't sit around anymore. They had to do something. They got to the base and headed into the court room of sorts.

It was not like others. It was white and black and the SHIELD color of blue, with the SHIELD logo on the back wall at least 20 feet tall. Other than that, it was shaped and looked pretty much the same, except the accused sat in a tiny glass cell where a jury would normally be rather than where they would usually sit, and there was no jury. SHIELD did not do jury. 

They all sat around for an hour, waiting nervously. Then a guard brought Tony in, kind of dragging him by him right arm. For some reason Tony seemed as though he could not walk as fast as the guard wanted him to, probably because he hadn't fully recovered yet. The guard opened the glass door, and roughly pushed Tony inside, making him stumble and hit the opposite pane of glass. 

"Hey! Asshole!" Pepper yelled at him, but Natasha silenced her when the guard looked over here. The last thing they needed right now was an agent pissed at Pepper. But, the strawberry blonde could not bring herself to regret it. Nope, just couldn't. Tony stood in the corner closest to the door of the room, no doubt if there was no glass there, he would have bolted. Hell, he still might. Bullet proof glass be damned. 

Then the judges entered, which was really just the council. I know, I said they did no jurying, but this was not a jury. Every single one of them was a judge, equal to the level of a judge, but not one with single power. They found having basically a jury of judges was more effective than the U.S. court system. But, that was just SHIELDs oppinion. Nobody said they were right. And depending on how today went, the Avengers might disagree with them. Tony would never help a terrorist. No matter what, and even if he would, it would only be under extreme circumstances where he was blackmailed or coersced to, and it looked like those conditions may have been present.

Everybody sat down, and the council started there examination. There were no lawyers, merely the judges looking at their evidence, calling upon the people sitting in for any explanations they may havem and then making a decision. It, in all honesty, did not seem a good way to do justice. Because, a right to an attorney was a right! But, if you are accused of aiding a terrorist or anything bad enough to get you in SHIELD court, then apparently that right was forgotten. Bastards.

They all sat around for another hour, as the judges reread the evidence again and again and came to a decision. Tony was still hugging himself in the corner of his little cell. Pepper knew he could get claustrophobic at times, and knew he was probably especially frightened in these circumstances. She just wished she could be with him to hug him and tell him it'll be alright. It may be a lie, but, it would most likely make him feel better.

"We have reviewed the evidence, we will now hear the statements of those willing to defende him." The head council member said, gesutring toward Tony.

Natasha decided to speak, "I have to say, I shocked at all of you. Damn the evidence, he would never do something like this. Unless he was under duress, and you know how we found him, what condition he was in. If he did help in whatever thing you think he has, it couldn't have been his fault. Andy had put things in his system, made him afraid of things, chained him up, beat him. He could not have been held responsible for his actions even if he did help Andy."

"We will consider your statement Agent Romanoff." came one of the judges voices. 

"I second the motion. Or whatever the hell i'm supposed to say." 

"Yes. Thank you Agent Barton." 

"I disagree." came a voice from the back of the room. Every head turned to see it.

"This Mr. Stark has commited treason, if the evidence stands to prove so. I am assuming it does or we would not be here." 

"Who are you?" a stern council member called, "Do you have access to attend this closed trial?"

"Michael Nebi, your honors. I am on the list." 

"Then speak."

"We all must be held for our actions, Mr. Stark here did what he did of his own devices. No matter what was done to him, he could have said no, but he did not. He chose to assist the destruction of him country, and i find that inexcusable. I do not care the circumstances." The man walked toward the front of the courtroom, closer the the glass cage. When he did so, Tony went berserk. He screamed and ran around the cell a few times before slamming into the glass closest to the door. Like I said, glass be damned. The metal from the reactor colliding with the glass sent a crack travelling up and down the pane. 

"Calm down!" one of the councilmen shouted, and it was enough to make Tony stop and in fact slink down onto the floor where he pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. Michael had turned around to look at him, and Natasha thought she saw a smileon his face, but when he turned around he looked confused and almost guilty. 

"I appologize. I shall move." he stepped away and sat on the opposite side of the courtroom from the Avengers.

"Mr. Stark, do you have anything to say? Do you confess? Deny everything? What?" One of the councilmen called to Tony.

He jerked his head up and looked around as if he wanted to say something, but couldn't. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, but nothing came out. He eventually just shook his head. Pepper sighed, she did not blame him, she just wished that he could at least deny the claims against him.

"Very well, let us reconvene." The council turned back to eachother and debated for a long time. The whisperings and the mutterings seemed to be stressing out Tony, hell, they were stressing out everybody.

"Anthony Stark." One of them said as he rose, and Tony jerked his head up, "We have heard the statements of the people, we have read the evidence, and we have given you the oppurtunity to defend yourself. Observing all of this, we have reached a decision."

Everything and everyone was silent, for what seemed to be forever.

"Anthony Stark, you are accused of treason, and of aiding a terrorist. For these charges, we find you..." silence again, then the verdict fell hard, "guilty."

Another council member rose, and looked at Tony for a moment, before speaking,

"And we sentence you to die."


	12. I Don't Know What To Say

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry to leave you scant few hanging with such a cliffhanger... but I am just a jerk like that. A Moffat in the making.   
> Anyways, here it is.

All was silent for what seemed like forever. The only sound Tony's harsh breathing. None of them could believe what they had just heard. The panic that must've been rising in the iron man must have overwhelmed him, because after a moment of remaining absolutely still, he screamed and smashed through the glass of his little glass cell, and ran out the door next to it. The guard began running after him immediately.

Natasha was up on her feet as soon as the two disappeared, following them out into the hallway. Meanwhile, Steve stood up and glared at the  _honorable_  jury, and yelled "That's a load of bullshit!"

"We will no have our judgment mocked in our court Captain."

"If you do not want your judgment mocked then don't make wrong judgments!" Steve said vehemently before turning and heading toward the main door. He was about to push the door open when the asshole that testified against Tony, leaning against the doorframe stopped him with a snide remark.

"I thought the good Captain America would be on America's side. Not against it." the tone was mocking and snide.

Steve stopped, turned to look at him, and proceeded to punch him squarely across the jaw, sending the man reeling to the ground.

"Shut up." Steve said quietly before leaving the room behind.

The rest of them and Pepper stayed seated for about another minute before getting up and shuffling out. Thor threw a string of Asgardian curses at the judges, Bruce was looking a bit green, Clint had that emotionless look on behind his sunglasses, and Pepper was quietly crying. That was the picture of the Avengers as they shambled out of the courthouse.

* * *

Natasha ended up chasing the guard and Tony through the twisting corridors and hallways, out a backdoor, and into the pouring rain outside. It was nighttime outside, but the sky was not black and starry, but grey and dark, cold droplets falling from it. A more religious person would say God was weeping because of the unjust verdict that his children had just made, or for what his people do to one another these days, but Natasha had lost faith in all that stuff a long time ago. To her, it was just rain.

Stopping just outside the doorway, taking only one step into the rain, she turned to look where her quarry had gone. Making a decision, she turned right. For a man in Tony's condition, he sure could run pretty far and fast. She soon found the guard standing in the middle of the sidewalk, scratching his head, looking around in bewilderment. Natasha smiled, Tony always managed to amaze her. He had managed to lose the guard. How she did not know, or where he was. But, she would find him. She always did.

She came up behind the guard, and tapped him on the shoulder, "You missed him. He gave you the slip."

"How could he do that. I just rounded this corner right after him and he was gone." The guard replied, looking around one more time.

"He turned and ran back that way," she pointed back the way she had come, "I saw him."

"How on earth did he do that?"

"I don't know. But you should probably go get him."

Thanking her, but still looking bewildered, he ran off back toward the courthouse.

"Tony?" she called softly when the guard was out of earshot.

She was about to continue her search a little further down, after a long silence, when she saw a head pop up from over a brick wall across the street. She smiled and walked over to him.

"How did you slip him like that?"

Tony just shrugged and climbed back over.

"Well, nice move."

Tony smiled a small smile at her, but she noticed he was shaking. Whether from fear or cold, or both, she could not tell. He was soaking wet, but so was she.

"You know we have to go back right?" Natasha said quietly.

Tony slid his back against the wall as he slowly fell to sit on the muddy ground, again he was silent, but he nodded as well. He pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them. Natasha sat beside him.

"Well, we should go back..." she started conversationally, looking forward across the street, watching the rain fall under the street light, the drops illuminating for a second and then disappearing. She noticed his head turn to look at her.

"I mean, it would be morally right. We cannot run from the law, it just causes more trouble." She continued, noticing Tony staring intently at her. She was reminded of a child, looking expectantly at their mother for the answers to life.

"But, since when do we care about morals, huh?" This time, she turned to look at him. His expression didn't change, but she saw his dark brown eyes light up a bit. She smiled at him.

"What do ya say we get you out of here? Somewhere safe til we can sort things out." At her suggestion, Tony nodded.

"Alright." she stretched as she stood up, gave him her hand to help him up, "Let's go."


	13. Too Safety

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM AAAAAAAAALLLLLLIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEE!   
> You were all worried about me huh? Didn't think so.  
> Anyways, sorry. horrible writers block, so ya know. and ive been working. I GOT A PAID ACTING JOB! I WAS SOOOO EXCITED! but you guys don't care about that. so, imma get to da good stuff!

"Where is he?!" came Fury's booming voice, causing Tony to jump. Yes, he flinched, but he dare not make a noise. As far as his brain could process, that would just cause more fear than he was feeling right now. All he knew nowadays was fear. But, at least it gave him good survival instincts.

Actually, as time wore on, the fear began to subside. But it was not gone yet. To paraphrase Lord of the Rings, it was not this day. Which, if he wasn't afraid, he might've marched out there, so right now he wasn't complaining. But, the story is going on a tangent now. So lets backtrack, shall we?

"Even if we knew do you really think we would tell you?!" Clint barked back. That was a lie, Tony thought, they did know where he was. He was in the closet joining the room everybody was having a shouting match in. They all knew where he was, sans Fury, they had put him here and told them to be quiet. An order he was happy to obey.

"You really expect me to believe the lot of you just let your little friend run off?!" Fury's voice raised an octave.

"Yeah. He did run off after all." Natasha said sarcastically. In the dark room, huddled in the back corner, Tony could imagine her leaning to her left with her arms crossed and had to smile. He had been thinking a lot about why he had chosen her to trust, rather than Bruce or anybody else. In fact, she was actually probably the least trustworthy, man had he been out of it. But he believed he had chosen her for a number of reasons.

One being that, hey, she was gorgeous. Especially when compared to everyone else on the team. Nobody could judge him there.

Two, she had come across as the least menacing. Hell, she used that to beat her opponents all the time because they underestimated her. And not remembering her, she would come across as the safest one.

There was a number three, he just could not remember it at the moment. We will have to get back to that.

The yelling escalated again, and he started humming Renegade by Styx. It was quiet, only he could hear it, otherwise he wouldn't have risked.

_'oh mama im in fear for my life on the long arm of the law._

_Law man has put an end to my runnin and I'm so far from my home._

_oh mama I can hear you cryin so scared an all alone._

_Hang man is comin down from the gallows and  I don't have very long._ '

He stopped his humming when the yelling stopped. He tensed. 'Oh god', he thought, 'they heard me. I'm dead. Crap.'

A door opened and slammed again, making him jump. Then footsteps, then the closet door creaked open. But it was just Bruce.

"You can come out. It's alright."

Slowly, oh so slowly, he pushed himself up the wall, uncurling his body.

"Will he be back?" his voice came, quiet, and barely audible.

"Eventually." he heard Steve, and jerked his head toward the noise, "But you can relax for now."

He almost laughed out loud at that. He really almost did. Because for as long as he could now remember, he had never been able to relax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a lot longer to write than I thought it would. Old rock music kept distracting me. And online shopping for Marvel fandise (fan merchandise for the hoodlums that don't know). But, I remained dedicated to you guys through it all, if not focused.  
> B T dubs, anybody know Renegade by Styx? Perfect song for the situation right? Right?! Aren't ya proud of me?


	14. He's Baaaaaaaack!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sup dudes. sorry this took so long... I got distracted by another fic. But im back!

Tony was sitting in the living room, on the couch. He wasn't playing with a tablet, his guanlets, nothing. Just sitting, staring at the wall. He wasn't huddled up like he always was, but he still wasn't moving.

Then he heard it. _Beep. Beep. Beep._

He turned his head, frantically looking around. He couldn't figure out the direction it was coming from. It sounded all around him, not from one place, but everywhere. Naturally, in his terrified state, he panicked.

Bruce and Clint came running in, Jarvis having informed them about Tony's elevated heart rate and quick and shallow breathing levels. Soon the whole team had amassed to see what was causing Tony to panic this time. 

This wasn't the first time he had acted like this because he said there was a beeping in his head. They just thought he was hearing things, but this many times? Maybe not.

So, they all sat down with Tony, trying to figure out where he was hearing the beeping from. Nobody else could hear it, but he could. And to him it was real. So it was important.

Then he stopped dead cold. Didn't move, not even to breath or blink . He just stopped. His face frozen in fear.

The others couldn't hear it, but in Tony's head it was clear as a bell.

" **Hello Tony boy. Miss me?"**

And with a scream, Tony leapt to his feet and ran frantically down the hallway, that terrified noise coming from his throat the whole way.

The others just watched in confusion, not knowing what the hell was going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry its short... I didn't know how to quite do this part so this is what my brain came up with. sorry...

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry that it is so short you guys. I am just tired it all. Next chapter should be up tomorrow if that means anything, I do not even know if anyone will read this. sigh.... oh well.  
> For anybody that does, feedback is always welcome. even ideas for what you guys wanna see in the story.   
> Thanks.


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